Golf IV R32 :: CEL Code Is P2181 For Coolant System
Jan 17, 2012
So after 1.5 years of owning my R I got my first CEL. The code is P2181. I did some searching and this is a problem in the coolant system.
In the previous posts about this these were the possible problems:
1) Coolant sensor
2) Thermostat
3) Bad fans
4) Coolant mixture
5) Water pump
I checked my car and I have the updated green coolant sensor. My question is should I just get a thermostat and replace that or should I replace the green coolant sensor with another one? Do the green ones go bad?
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Like the title states, I've got P2181 (coolant system performance) CEL on again. I've had this code before and finally had everything serviced. It was off for 5k miles! I've spent a lot of time diagnosing this on the previous occurrences, and was 99% certain it was the thermostat due to the coolant temp dropping a notch or so when engine braking* on the interstate for more than a few seconds.
The current issue is mainly that the car will not heat up quite as fast, but it will not go lower from engine braking for a good chunk of time. I'm getting fairly poor MPG compared to what I was getting a month or two ago. The major changes are winter fuel blends and winter tires, which I'm sure affect the MPG a little, but I would hope not as much as I am seeing. Old average was around 27mpg combined and 30 or so for mostly highway, now I'm getting 24 tops. This is likely due to engine temps not being up to allow for most efficient fuel burning.
First plan is to change the CTS and see if that will fix it. If the code comes back after that, I'll have to check the thermostat and coolant mixture, but I wouldn't expect it to last only 5k miles.
Current: 105k
Thermostat and coolant changed at 100k
Water pump at 80k
CTS sometime around 70k
Engine braking lowering temp due to no fuel being ignited and coolant still circulating through the system if thermostat open.
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If I am not mistaken this error code means that I have a coolant system issue. I've checked both of my radiator fans and they both spin, so it makes me think that its the thermostat issue. If I am correct, any link to a replacement part? Or better yet a DIY? I've searched and no dice.
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Had a P2181 come up twice now... both on startup on a cool morning. Came on again this weekend. Monday morning I noticed a small coolant leak under the front of the car directly in line with the passenger headlight, but it only leaks if I park the car with the front down a slope. I parked uphill on Monday night and no leak in the morning, but I backed in facing downhill on Tuesday and had a small leak when I checked late last night.
So, last night I broke out the UV/black light -- G12 seems to fluoresce yellow'ish. I couldn't see much, so it is a small leak. There is some wetness on the bottom passenger side of the rad that's dripping over the back side of the front bumper/lip. No wetness around any other hoses, thermostat housing, temp sensor, turbo lines. But that's all from the top view. No time yet this week to get it up on stands to pull the bumper/splash shields for a closer look either.
I am little concerned tho as there's some wetness around the valve cover and when I pulled the oil cap my eyes suggested a bit of fluorescence under the cap and inside the valve cover. I'm a little worried oil and coolant may be meeting up somewhere... And to think... I was just in the process of getting geared up to do brakes and plugs before getting a modest tune (stage 1).
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Last night on my way to go get hammered the check engine light popped on...
"Cooling System Performance"
I have read a few different post, and the last one I read referred to his radiator fans. I know for a fact one of them isn't working and I haven't replaced it yet because it hasn't advisable effected my driving.
So my question is what could be causing this? Also I'm not sure if this matters but my a/c doesn't work either.
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The code in question is:
18613 - Performance Malfunction in Cooling System
P2181 - 008 - Implausible Signal - MIL ON
Long story short, there are 5 main reasons this problem can pop up, listed in order of likelihood, least to greatest:
1) Coolant sensor
2) Thermostat
3) Bad fans
4) Coolant mixture
5) Water pump
It's a fun catch-all code that can be thrown from any of those. Given that our cars are approaching the 6 year mark, the coolant sensor & thermostat are the most likely culprits. Most of us up on maintenance have already done the green-top sensor, so it's probably the thermostat. In which case, here is the official changing the thermostat DIY: [URL] .....
If you get this code, first check your fans. They're running? Okay, change your sensor & clear it. If it comes back, change the thermostat. If it still comes back, which has been known to happen, investigate further. [IMG] [URL] .....
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I've recently started popping up a random P2181 performance malfunction in cooling system.
It's so random and shows no signs of any other problems that I'm confused. Temp gets hot, stays exactly where it should be, 200. Never gets a tick hotter, or even close to above 200. Air works, heat works fine. No loss of power. It only seems to come on when I really put my foot down.
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Have an '07 2.0T w/92K on it. Check eng light came on over the weekend. Performance is fine etc. Went to AutoZone just to find the general area of the the trouble code since there's no one with a VAG Com nearby. The code is as the title indicates. For the last 5 months the temp gauge has been moving 1-2 ticks to the left (cooler) of the normal 200 degrees, then it will go back to 200 etc. It previously has always stayed on 200 once it warmed up. Does this sound like a thermostat?
If it is, I'm wondering if I could save some money while they were in there to go ahead and change the TB as well? From what I've researched the thermostat is in same area. I was planning on doing the TB at around 100-110k so while it would be earlier than planned I'd do it if it meant saving a bit from the combo work.
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This code came up on my car, what it means or what part needs to be replaced.
008577 - Performance Malfunction in Cooling System
P2181 - 008 - Implausible Signal - MIL ON
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 11101000
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 2
Mileage: 84971 km
[Code] .....
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My CEL is on and the code is a p2181 (cooling system performance). My car isn't overheating or taking too long too warm up, so I'm guessing its not a bad thermostat or water pump. I want to replace the ECT sensor, but I haven't found any instructions for doing this on the 2.0TSI engine. Aren't there 2 ECT sensors? One on the lower radiator hose and one on the thermostat/water pump housing.
Lower radiator hose ECT sensor: [URL] .....
Thermostat/water pump housing ECT sensor: [URL] ....
Which one do I need to replace? The radiator hose ECT sensor seems easy enough to access, but I'm not sure what needs to be removed to replace the sensor on the thermostat housing?
I noticed that the temperature isn't always sitting at 190. It will drop slightly below on occasion for short periods of time. Could this actually be a thermostat issue?
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CEL came on yesterday and pulled P2181 which looks like it could be a bunch of different things. Taking it to the shop tomorrow morning so any guesses? BTW I would attempt the easy things first but it is my daily so.....
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Started happening recently where I can't bring her past 5k without misfiring on cyl 2 and throwing the p2181 code. I changed the coil just to be sure, but I do know my coolant sensor wires were a little snug from the TB being so close.
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So this seems to be a common code that is thrown when you near 100k miles, I'm at 77k .. This thread seems to be the most organized [URL] ....
"Long story short, there are 5 main reasons this problem can pop up, listed in order of likelihood, least to greatest:
1) Coolant sensor
2) Thermostat
3) Bad fans
4) Coolant mixture
5) Water pump "
My issue is that the only ones I'm (probably) able to rule out is coolant mixture and bad fans. My radiator fans do turn on from time to time, so I thought I'd ruled that out (unless it would throw a code for not turning on at appropriate times?)
I heard of a test to turn on your AC and see if they turn on, but my AC hasn't blown cold air like ever, so I don't know if that affects the test (probably not?)
A couple years ago I had a shop replace the original thermostat with the new one, or was it the coolant sensor, or both (ugh, I don't remember!) That leaves thermostat, coolant sensor, and water pump.
I guess my main question is is there anyway to find out which it is between these 3, without spending so time, money, parts etc? It doesn't seem the coolant sensor is easily accessible for one.
My car has been really slow recently but I also need to change the spark plugs, I'm doing that this week. I cleared the CEL/P2181 code and it returned a few weeks later,
I'm starting to change my mind about this car being easy to maintain/reliable, I'm always on time with maintenance and with only 77k miles on a 2004 car.
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My engine light is on.I took it to Autozone ,came up with a code P2181.........
#61 FAILED RADIATOR OR WATER PUMP
#62 CHECK ECT SENSOR
No overheating , No Antifreeze leak.....
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My 2006 V8 Phaeton has had its yellow engine warning light on for a few weeks. Around the same time, the cooling fan in the engine compartment stays on after I stop the car - even though its Winter here in Montana. So I got the fault code read: P2181. Seems to be linked to cooling system?
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I just picked up a MK4 gls 1.8t jetta for a project car.... I wanted to keep the miles off my MK6 gti.... The jetta has 92k miles and the first thing I had done was the timing belt service done as well as a new alternator clutch pulley and oil change... 1 day after I got the car i was driving to work and the CEL came on took it to auto parts store... 2 codes came up
P0420: catalyst system. efficiency below threshold bank1
P2181 cooling system performance
I have the green sensor and I think its time to change the thermostat... My question is is it just a coincidence that both codes came up at the same time or is i possible it is a sign for something else... i just had the thermostat changed 10 min ago...CEL light is gone so i will wait to see if the cat code comes back.
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This morning when I started up my car the coolant light flashed red, an audible warning chime sounded and the MFI read that I need to check the manual. Because the light was flashing, the manual says there is an engine coolant system malfunction and I need to take it to the dealer. The car was completely cold at the start, so I turned it off, then back on and there was no warning. I drove to work and the temperature gauge read right where it should be the whole way. This afternoon, when I started it up to go home the same thing happened. By the way, the car has only 4800 miles on it.
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Bought a 2004 Jetta GLI about two weeks ago. Has 80,100 miles. Ran great for about the first week then the check engine light came on for no reason. It is spitting out two codes.
1) P3081
2) P2181
The car still was running good even with spitting these codes so I continued to drive it for another week. Today I was sitting in the parking lot of a store and the car was idling for about 25 minutes while I ran into the store and I come outside from the store and there was a huge lake under my car and the engine was running hot and smoking.
I let it cool down and poured some water into the over flow bubble looking thing and it didn't look like any water was leaking out.
When the water was leaking out it looked like it was coming from the left middle side of the engine.....
Also I would like to add that the car seems to always run a little cold.....it never runs just in the middle like most cars do...
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So the car broke down on my wife while on the way to work again. This time the coolant is completely drained from the system. It is all over inside the engine compartment so it's impossible to tell where the leak actually is. Within the last year we have replaced the pump and thermostat so I am going on the assumption that neither of those are an issue at this point.
Although I figure a stuck Tstat might cause too much pressure to build up and blow a line. Ill cross that bridge when the time comes. I also assume there should be nothing wrong with just putting water in there just to find the leak and then of course draining and putting the proper fluids in. Is this a wise course of action to take? You never know with these German things. I would of course use the same type of water that is used to mix with the coolant already.
My wife also stated that she did not see any smoke coming out of the tailpipe and only the engine. This means the engine itself should be safe and no gasket blew inside.
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Yesterday my car threw a CEL for the first time; I am currently APR stage II. Ran the code and came up with P2400. Code cleared, but after 1 cycle it appeared again.
Interestingly, on my way to a cookout today the car started yelling at me about low coolant. I pulled over and checked but didn't see any initial signs of leakage (was raining at the time though...). Continued to my destination and topped off with distilled H2O in lieu of G12 since I didn't have any immediately available. Once I made it back home, checked the reservoir again and saw that the level had dropped (probably ~ 1/2 cup or so). This time, I could see liquid on the belly pan, then on my driveway...
It looks like the P2400 code is indicating an issue in the leak detection pump circuit. Any chance that the coolant leak and P2400 code are related (leak shorted something out...??? I should mention I am not super familiar with the plumbing for the evap system in this car) or am I really this unlucky.
Issues with the car since purchase:
- Replaced clutch (stock would not hold stage 1 torque...)
- Wiring for radiator fan came loose, fans stopped working (took ~3 weeks to resolve due to resulting ECU issues...)
- ECU solder joint (EVAP circuit) damaged during re-flash after flashing to stock for dealer to address radiator fan issue...
- P2400 CEL
- Coolant Leak
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Few weeks ago I threw a CEL for an engine coolant temp. It went away and came back now as a P3081, I don't recall that being the code before. But from what I understand It is a simple sensor that I can replace myself. Car is running fine and not overheating.. it did however overheat the last time It threw a CEL but that was also stop and go traffic with AC on.
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